Califomia State University, Long Beach (CSULB) established an MBRS (Minority Biomedical Research Support) Support of Continuous Research Excellence (SCORE) program on its campus in the fall of 2001 with five Principal Investigators. We now propose to add an additional 13 faculty members as research investigators in a supplemental application to our parent grant - 1 S06 GM63119-01. By doing so, we will further meet our goals to increase the research capabilities of faculty members within the Departments of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Biological Sciences and to provide the infrastructure necessary to support highly productive and competitive research. Goal 1: Increase research skills and capabilities as well as productivity of participating faculty members so they will be more competitive for R01 or equivalent grants. Specific measurable objectives for the Pl's on the supplemental grant will include: 1) an increased publication rate - 50% will have at least one manuscript accepted for publication by the end of year 2 of the supplement; 100% will have at least one manuscript accepted by the end of year 3; and 2) at least 40% of the participating faculty members will write and submit R01 or equivalent applications during the period of the proposed grant; at least 40% of the Pl's will write applications as continuing Pl's on the next competitive SCORE grant application. Goal 2: Increase the institutional infrastructure to support and maintain research needs of faculty members at a higher level. A self study is underway to evaluate department, college, and university support and needs of Pl's and will provide the basis for recommendations to the University administration for ways to improve in key areas. Measurable outcomes will include an increased awareness of and commitment to support the needs of the faculty to develop and maintain competitive research programs. PI's in the supplemental application will be included in this on-going study. [unreadable] [unreadable] The proposed projects of the faculty investigators cover a wide range of biomedical research, both in basic and applied areas. Provided the needed time, resources, and institutional support to carry out research, participants will become more productive and competitive for mainstream grants. This will significantly strengthen biomedical research within the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, promote involvement of other faculty members at a higher level of research, and in line with NIH goals, provide expanded opportunities for underrepresented minorities in biomedical research. [unreadable] [unreadable]